A few years ago here on Branding Strategy Insider, I wrote a piece on empathy, observing the importance of this characteristic in connecting brands with their customers. Empathy validates the feelings, concerns, aspirations and fears someone has, and says, “I understand.” This is not only reassuring but adds relevance to the relationship, as in “we (customer and brand) are together in this.”
While nostalgia marketing isn’t new, it is particularly relevant today at a time when people feel increasingly lonely on one hand and distrust brands and corporations on the other.
Every brand wants to take their audience through an unforgettable journey, so taking the time to assess what the journey will look like is a critical part of building a brand story.
What are Amazon’s greatest innovations? Drones? Cloud computing? Echo and Alexa? These are impressive; some are even revolutionary. However, I believe Amazon’s greatest innovations are the ones that have changed the basics of competing to the point where they now sound mundane.
It was John F. Kennedy who said; “Change is the law of life. And those that look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” With an uncertain future at our doorstep, markets and people are anxious for someone to demonstrate decisive leadership, grounded in reality. Enter Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson.
